Retailers Prepare For The Introduction Of R18+

At time of writing, only ACT and NSW has passed its individual legislation for the introduction of an R18+ rating for video games in Australia, and NT and QLD has yet to actually introduce its legislation. But, regardless, the Classification Board has now begun working with local Australian retailers, putting training programs in place, to make sure that staff are prepared for the changes in law come January 2013.

In an update from the iGEA, CEO Ron Curry stated that JB HI-FI, Harvey Norman, Dick Smith Electronics, EB, Big W, Ebay Australia, Kmart and Target have already been involved in meetings with the Classification Board and had provided input into the new signage that will be placed around stores when the R18+ rating is brought into being. The remaining retailers have meetings schedule in the future to discuss similar issues.

In addition, Video Games Assessors are set to undergo new training through information sessions provided by the Classificatiob Branch in Sydney and in Melbourne.

According to Ron, it's important that everyone has a good solid understanding of the new guidelines and how to apply them — including parents.

"From iGEA’s perspective" he wrote, "the successful inclusion of an adult classification involves the cooperation not just of Government and the games industry but also parents and retailers. iGEA is focused on providing practical information to help parents manage children’s access to appropriate levels of content in the home and we will continue to provide regular and relevant information such as blog posts, educational videos and research papers."

None of them, the new rating is only for new titles going forward, it is not applied retrospectively.

I think RC games which didn't use up their appeal might be able to be resubmitted, and I think also that if a publisher wants to stick a higher rating onto a product than the classification board says that's permitted (but no one would do that) and also they can resubmit things, but that would be a waste of money really.

The only other way that MA15+ games could be suddenly reclassified to R18+ is if there were complaints from the community.

I'm personally hoping for Left4Dead 2 to be reclassified as R, and all the gore added back in, in an update. At the moment all the blood and gore has been taken out of the game so it could be classified as MA, so it could actually come to Australia.

By proes of elimination, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia are likely in the process of passing the legislation, having introduced it but not having completed it yet.
Probably due to the politicians who don't know what the legislation is about and stick up their hand to ask for a study or make some random objection to give themselves some breathing room.

Not too sure what you're asking here, but WA is a state, as are South Australia, Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania. The ACT(Australian Capital Territory) and the Northern Territory are not states, but territories and that is basically the same as a state. New Zealand is not part of Australia, and as such, has different laws and Classifications that you would have to check.

And GOOGLE is the right place to ask if states are states.
It took about 5 seconds to find this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_and_territories_of_Australia

Now there's going to be people complaining about staff not checking for proper ID just like with alcohol. I wonder if there are now going to be adult only game shelves (probably not). And sex games on top of the drug use and violence? The possibilities are endless.

Waste of tax papers money, training programs?, last i checked there are still homeless people on the streets begging, and we are spending possibly millions of dollars on training people on something which can be be summed up with the lable on the box, dont sell to people under 18, its not hard.

It's about damn time paper started paying tax. Lousy paper, not doing anything for anyone.

What people need to realise, is that chucking a whole bunch of money at stuff doesn't fix it. Nor is there one big lump sum of money that people dip into to pay for stuff. There are budgets of proportionate size and if you spend all your budget money fighting for R18+ games, you're done. No more money for you until next financial year.

Besides, the Salvos, Vinnies etc., do a LOT for the homeless, and they're charity organisations. Want to make a difference? Donate your computer to them, or give a slab of your paycheck.

Seeing as the whole battle of getting R18 has been based on proving adult gamers are mature and responsible I am no longer suprised it was a difficult thing to demonstrate having seen the response from bjg

When I was younger, Resident Evil 4 looked so cool. I remember being so excited to play it. Then I found out that it was only going to be released on the Nintendo Gamecube, which I didn’t own.
My dreams were shattered because I was a dumb kid and didn’t realise that one day it would come to more consoles. Since that sad moment in my life, RE4 has been released on nearly every platform. And I can’t stop buying it every time a new port is released.